Over the years as numerous elections and campaigns have come and gone, it wasn’t that uncommon to see some figures in popular culture, try to ‘get in on the fun,’ and attempt to become the next Commander-in-Chief.

In the 1970’s, The Walt Disney Company had a little fun with citing Winnie the Pooh for a presidential candidate. In the 1990’s, the Brain from Pinky and the Brain, showed up on a campaign to “Put a Brain in the White House” (never mind his straight-forward intentions to enslave mankind and take over the world!).

A vintage Snoopy for President pin.

When it came to the Peanuts Gang, the front-runners for President were usually Snoopy, Lucy Van Pelt, and Charlie Brown.

Of course, most voters often go straight for Snoopy: he’s a dog, he’s cute, and he has a vivid imagination. However, when it comes to his ‘political track record,’ few seem to remember his brief stint as the Head Beagle, back in 1970.

Fortunately, that’s what this Peanuts Prospectus is all about: to let you know the truth, so that you may know what to expect the next time you see a Snoopy for President slogan.

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In the Peanuts comic strips, the Head Beagle is the unseen ‘ruler’ of all dogs (though we never do find out why the position is not all-encompassing of all dog breeds). In the fall of 1969, he was officially introduced by name, when Frieda threatened to report Snoopy to him, for not going with her to chase rabbits.

Not wanting to get in trouble with his superior, Snoopy went with Frieda, but upon letting a rabbit get away, she angrily reported him, and he was soon summoned to appear before the Head Beagle.

Snoopy headed off to his appointment (clad in black), and returned in a daze, a few days later (“This is the way you always look when you return from having appeared before the Head Beagle!” he claimed).

Though Frieda’s letter did result in him being reprimanded, Snoopy mentions (in his thought balloons) that the Head Beagle was very understanding (so it wasn’t as horrible an experience as many would assume).

The subject of the Head Beagle followed Snoopy into the early months of the 1970’s.

On January 4th, 1970, Snoopy received a yearly report sheet, which all dogs must fill out for the Head Beagle. The strip was obviously making fun of the irritation of having to fill out income tax forms, and it’s fun to see Snoopy getting snippy about some of the questions he is required to answer.

Snoopy snidely finished filling out the forms and sent it away, but remarked that though he hates filling out the yearly report, there was always the possibility that he could become Head Beagle one day, if he played his cards right.

The next day, Snoopy received another summons from the Head Beagle. This led to an assignment to stand guard over the playground adjoining the school where Charlie Brown and Linus went. However, after a few days, Snoopy was chased off the school grounds, but angrily cited that this did not mean the school principal outranked the Head Beagle.

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And then, on February 16, 1970, it happened: Snoopy received a letter, that claimed he had been chosen as the new Head Beagle!

Of course, the day after the news hits, some assume the worst (take Lucy, for example).

This was followed shortly afterwards by a televised inauguration. It must have been a dogs-only event, as Charlie Brown is seen watching it with Linus and Lucy, from his living room. Though Linus has kind words for Charlie Brown’s dog, Lucy just frowns.

“He’ll probably get impeached,” she murmurs.

February 19th, was Snoopy’s first active day in his new role. Right from the start, Snoopy soon finds that being Head Beagle, is anything-but-easy.

His job seems to entail the placement of dogs in areas where they are needed, as well as hearing out a number of cases. Of course, his appointed secretary is also a little inept.

As February turned to March, Lucy voiced her displeasure at the way the world was going (see right), and Linus inquired to Snoopy about pollution, claiming that the Head Beagle was supposed to do something about it. Frieda even demanded to see the Head Beagle at one point, but was met with an angry stare from his secretary.

March 5th was the day things finally came to a head. Working deep into the night, irritated that noone seemed to appreciate his hard work, Snoopy finally admitted to himself that he had had enough.

The next day, brought word that the Head Beagle had disappeared, when his secretary arrived for work, only to find noone atop the dog house!

Most of the kids in the neighborhood wonder where Snoopy could have gone, but Charlie Brown has an idea.

Calling up Peppermint Patty, his hunch proved correct. Finally tiring of his duties, Snoopy had gone awol, and was hiding out at her place.

Once the weekend was over, Charlie Brown dropped by Patty’s place on March 9th, with a letter for Snoopy. Upon opening it, the writing was on the wall: Snoopy had been replaced as Head Beagle, for abandoning his post.

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The end of Snoopy’s career as the Head Beagle, also meant his appointed secretary was out of a job. However, a few days later, Snoopy found the little bird hard at work, writing a book: “I Was Secretary For The Head Beagle.”

Naturally, Snoopy was upset that he was being included in a tell-all book. However, the situation became a bit less upsetting, when his secretary attempted to send off his manuscript. Due to a tree and a strong wind, the pages of the tell-all book were never published.

Even though he abandoned his post, the fact that Snoopy had been the Head Beagle at one time, was enough to get him invited back to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm, as a guest speaker. Word was there were some young dogs who wanted to meet someone who had come from the puppy farm, and gone on to such a distinguished position.

Of course, Snoopy’s speaking engagement didn’t go over so well, but that’s a story for another time.

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Naturally, we are left to wonder what the former secretary to the Head Beagle might have mentioned in his tell-all book, but hopefully, this article will make you think a bit, the next time you see Snoopy’s name appear on a ballot for an election. After all, if he couldn’t handle being the Head Beagle, how well do you think he could handle being President of the United States?

Throughout the years, the concept of love and relationships has popped up in many shows, often as Valentine’s Day approaches.

In February of 1963, it just so happened that the broadcast date for a new Twilight Zone episode, fell on that fated day. And with it, brought the tale of an Appalachian love triangle, between flaxen-haired Ellwyn Glover (Laura Devon), the handsome Billy-Ben Turner (James Best), and the raven-haired Jesse-Belle Stone (Anne Francis).

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At the Glover’s annual barn dance, Luther Glover (George Mitchell) praises the bountiful harvest that he and his neighbors have collected, along with an announcement: his daughter Ellwyn Glover, is to be wed to Billy-Ben Turner.

However, not everyone in attendance is happy for the couple, notably Jess-Belle Stone, who quickly leaves. Billy follows her outside, where Jess claims that she still longs for the time when they were together. She feels that Billy is only marrying Ellie for her family’s wealth, but Billy claims that isn’t so.

Before he returns to the dance, Jess asks Billy to tell his bride-to-be, not to start making her wedding dress just yet.

“Why should I tell her a thing like that?” replies Billy, curiously.

“She ain’t married you yet, Billy-Ben,” says Jess, sternly. “Maybe she never will.”

It is then that Rod Serling’s voice is heard, as we see Jess watch the lovers embrace, before storming off:

The Twilight Zone has existed in many lands in many times. It has it’s roots in history, in something that happened long, long ago and, got told about and handed down from one generation of folk to the other. In the telling the story gets added to and embroidered on, so that what might have happened in the time of the Druids is told as if it took place yesterday in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Such stories are best told by an elderly grandfather on a cold winter’s night by the fireside, in the southern hills, of the Twilight Zone.

Jess-Belle is next seen at the home of a woman named Granny Hart (Jeanette Nolan), whom the locals claim to be a witch. Granny just laughs this off, and inquires why the girl has come to her.

Jess claims she wants the old woman to help her make Billy-Ben love her again, but upon being asked for money for the old woman’s services, the girl claims she has none…but is willing to pay ‘any price.’

With those words, Granny pulls out a small bottle from a covered shelf. Jess drinks it’s contents, but suddenly flinches! After a few moments, her eyes open, and Granny Hart claims that once Billy sees her, he’ll never have eyes for another.

Jess-Belle then returns to the barn dance, where she interrupts a dance-circle, and catches Billy’s eye. Just as Granny Hart promised, he becomes enchanted by her, and as Ellwyn and the others watch, the two walk out of the barn!

Ellwyn’s mother and father immediately have harsh words for Billy turning his back on their daughter, but Ellwyn claims she knows what happened: “Jess-Belle bewitched him.”

Some ways off, Jess-Belle and Billy lay in a field, talking of their future together. Suddenly, Billy notes the moon overhead going down, causing Jess to suddenly claim she has to get home.

Once there, she rushes for her room, ignoring the entreaties of her mother. As the clock tolls The Witching Hour, Jess collapses to the floor of her room, and in a puff of smoke, turns into a leopard.

Some time later, Billy comes to Jess, and gives her the ring he had given Ellwyn, claiming it now belongs to Jess. He also speaks how he has made plans with a preacher, and how her mother will make her a wedding dress, but Jess seems perturbed by all this.

She claims she needs to go away, but as Billy grabs her arm not wanting her to leave, she lashes out a hand at him…leaving three claw marks raked across the side of his face!

She then rushes back to Granny Hart, claiming she feels an emptiness inside. It is then that Granny claims that she really is a witch, and reveals the price Jess paid for Billy-Ben: her soul. Granny also reveals that because of this, Jess has also become a witch!

“You paid the price,” she tells the girl. “Take what you paid for.”

After several days of doubt, Jess puts aside her fears, and decides to heed the old woman’s advice, soon giving in to Billy’s request to be wed soon.

Sometime later, Jess-Belle comes across Ellwyn Glover picking wildflowers. The two trade ‘quiet barbs’ with each other, before Jess tells Ellwyn to watch out for a wildcat that’s been seen in the area.

However, Ellwyn claims her father is rounding up a number of men (including Billy) to take care of the creature, before morning the next day.

Jess returns home, where her mother works to hem her wedding dress. When she claims she saw Ellwyn out in the fields looking ‘sickly,’ her mother thinks maybe she should take the girl some tonic.

“You and your tonics,” laughs Jess. “You’re worse than Granny Hart-”

The slip of her tongue causes an awkward silence between mother and daughter. When Jess’ mother finds out her daughter has knowledge of the old woman, she soon deduces what her daughter has done in getting Billy to love her again.

When the girl reveals the price she paid, her mother says they should pray for her, but Jesse claims that will do not good. Instead, she asks her mother to lock her room door, so that she cannot get out until morning.

Though her mother does as she wishes, Jess (in her leopard form), escapes out her bedroom window, and ends up in the Glover’s barn, spooking the horses, and scaring Ellwyn.

The girl’s screams attract her father and the men hunting the cat. Billy and another man fire at it, and are surprised as the creature vanishes in a puff of smoke!

“A witch,” exclaims Ellwyn’s father. “That cat, was a witch!”

Billy examines where the wildcat disappeared, and finds the ring he had given to Jess. As the other men leave, Billy begins speaking to Ellwyn…a sure sign that his connection with Jess-Belle has been severed.

A year passes, and Ellwyn and Billy are set to be wed. As Billy prepares for the wedding, he is visited by Jess-Belle’s mother, who gives him her daughter’s silver hairpin as a gift…along with a warning.

As talk turns to Jess-Belle, her mother claims that she does not believe her daughter is dead. Though Billy claims one of his bullets hit the wildcat in the Glover’s barn, Mrs Stone tells how she saw a toad in her daughter’s room, and upon trying to kill it, it turned to smoke, and flew away!

Billy tries to put this thought out of his mind, but at the wedding, he notices a spider crawling on Ellie’s veil. Plucking it off and holding it in his hand, it then disappears in a puff of smoke, leading Billy to believe that Mrs Stone was right.

After the ceremony, the newlywed couple returns to Billy’s house, where strange things begin to happen. Ellie finds herself attempting to slap Billy, and a clock in the room suddenly falls to the floor! Billy then gives Ellie their Bible, and tells her not to leave the house, as he rushes off.

Billy seeks out Granny Hart, wanting to know how to kill a witch. She asks for a lock of his hair as payment, but Billy instead pays her in coins. Hart then tells Billy that he needs to make a figure of the girl, wearing something she wore, then stab it in it’s ‘heart’ with something of silver.

Billy then goes to Jess-Belle’s home, where her mother gives him the wedding dress she hemmed for her daughter. before he leaves, she tells Billy that she is sure her daughter would appreciate what he is trying to do.

Billy returns to his house, where he finds Ellwyn standing outside. He tells her that he knows how to be rid of Jess’ spirit, but is shocked when Ellie starts speaking, with Jess-Belle’s voice!

Billy rushes into the house and locks the door (with the possessed Ellwyn pounding on it from the outside). Putting the dress on a seamstress’ mannequin, he then stabs it in the heart-area with the silver pin. Suddenly, Jess-Belle materializes, before the figure crumples to the ground and disappears, leaving behind the empty dress.

Billy then finds Ellwyn outside, having no recollection of what happened since her wedding. As he embraces her, the girl’s eye is drawn to the heavens, where she witnesses a star, streaking through the sky.

My mama says when you see a falling star,” she tells Billy, “that means a witch has just died.”

“So I’ve heard tell,” replies Billy, sure that he and Ellwyn are now safe, and that Jess-Belle is truly gone, but also finally at peace.

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I’ve often been a fan of stories with a “be careful what you wish for” storyline. Of course, this wasn’t the first Twilight Zone episode to handle the concept of love and potions.

In Season 1, there was the modern-day story called The Chaser, where a young man gets a love potion to get a girl he lusts after, to love him. In the end however, her constant fawning over him gets to be too much, and he ends up paying for something called, “the glove cleaner,” to fix his dilemma.

Writer Earl Hamner Jr, wrote eight episodes during the last few seasons for The Twilight Zone, and in one interview, he claimed that Jess-Belle was his favorite one to write.

It was also done relatively quickly. When another script fell-through, Hamner pitched, wrote, and finished Jess-Belle in a week’s time (with no time for revisions!).

There was also an issue with the kind of cats considered for Jess-Belle’s nightly transformation. The original idea for a tiger was dropped, when the producer Herbert Hirschmann claimed they were hard to work with. After this, there was consideration for a black leopard (to match the color of Jess’ hair), but none could be found, leaving the production to settle on the spotted leopard in the episode.

Along with writing the episode, Hamner also wrote the lyrics to several musical interludes throughout. As the story progresses, a female voice sings bits of a small ‘ballad,’ about the story. It is notable that in place of a closing narrative by Serling, we get a reprise of part of the ballad, heard in the beginning of the episode:

Fair was Elly Glover, dark was Jess-Belle.

Both they loved the same man, and both they loved him well.

Hamner also uses some creative wordplay, when it comes to Jess and Ellwyn. They never get into a shouting match over their love of Billy-Ben (being decent young women), but Earl gives them a small moment of trading barbs, through wordplay.

This comes when Jess-Belle finds Ellwyn in a field by herself.

“Lots of wildflowers around here,” notes Jess. “Saw a patch of ‘old maid’s fern’ up on the mountain.”

A few moments later, Ellwyn responds with: “I notice a lot of ‘vixen-wort’ around here m’self.”

Buzz Kulik, the director, also was a Twilight Zone alumni, directing nine episodes during the show’s run.

In several of his episodes, he had a way of having the camera play among people’s faces, having the actors say plenty with just their expressions.

This type of storytelling is seen in the opening scene especially, when we see Billy-Ben looking a bit nervous, locking eyes with Jess-Belle, after his and Ellwyn’s engagement is announced.

It’s the look of a young man who seems to have possibly made a snap-decision, without telling the other party.

The overall story plays out almost like an Appalachian ‘fairy-tale,’ but it does feel like it stretches the story a bit long for the hour-long format of Season 4. Some areas feel a little repetitive, though one wonders if maybe there could have been more of Jess-Belle in her leopard form, and how her late-night presence affected the locals.

Word is that Earl Hamner was also planning to adapt the story into a musical at one point. When Anne Francis (who played Jess-Belle) heard this, she told him she’d love to play the role of Granny Hart in it…only for him to say he didn’t feel she would have been right for the role. However, this venture was never completed (as far as I know).

Out of all the characters in the episode, it is Jess-Belle and Granny Hart that stand out the most.

The character of Jess-Belle could easily have been a vindictive and over-the-top girl who is willing to knock aside anything and anyone in her way. One can easily see the girl’s name is a take on the word ‘jezebel’ (meaning ‘an impudent, shameless, or morally unrestrained woman,‘ according to Merriam-Webster), but the character here is crafted to be little more than a young woman, whose yearnings end up being her downfall. She thinks all her troubles are behind her once she has Billy-Ben, but it feels like everyday after, she is stuck living with the consequences of her actions, making her a tragic figure.

Jeanette Nolan seems to have the more ‘fun’ role in the episode, as she plays Granny Hart as a witch with a spirited personality. There is a devilish mischief Nolan imbues on the old woman. She seems to delight in causing mischief, and a naive young woman who wishes for a man’s love, gives her some entertainment. It doesn’t help that she seems to smile a great deal, a Cheshire grin that makes one wonder what is going on in her mind.

There is even an interesting juxtaposition, as we first see her in black robes conjuring something, before she pulls the robes away, and simply looks like a kindly old woman, expecting company.

Jess-Belle is not one of the more popular episodes of The Twilight Zone, but it feels like it was somewhat ‘experimental’ in it’s execution. And for that, it sticks out in my mind.

It’s cautionary tale about how love can sometimes blind people to the consequences of their actions, proves to be an intriguing story that the episode’s cast and crew, wove together, all those years ago.

(Rated TV-MA, for Mature Audiences. May not be suitable for children 17 and under)

10 years ago, Matt Reeves and JJ Abrams released Cloverfield. Composed of classified found-footage, it put the audience in the center of an alien invasion, whilst intertwined into the lives of a number of young people, as they attempted to get out of New York.

Many thought that was all, until 8 years later, we had the release of 10 Cloverfield Lane. However, while many came seeking answers, what they got was little more than another end-of-the-world story, with very little to do with the first film.

Rumor was that there would be another Cloverfield film (or two), and then, during the 2018 Superbowl, Netflix dropped a trailer, claiming the next installment, would be shown exclusively on their channel, following the game.

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On Earth, numerous countries are on the brink of war over dwindling resources.

Hoping to resolve this issue, the Cloverfield space station is put into orbit (along with an international crew), along with a particle accelerator, that many hope will be able to supply unlimited, free energy to save the planet. Even with this possibility, some fear that using the accelerator will lead to horrifying consequences.

After many failed attempts, the accelerator finally works. However, after an overload of power, the crew finds that Earth is no longer outside their window, and a number of strange things begin to happen aboard the station.

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When it comes to anything with JJ Abrams as producer, expect the unexpected.

That definitely seems to be the case with Paradox. Up until the announcement of the film’s release during the Superbowl, I had no idea what this third film’s title would be, but once I heard the word Paradox, my time-addled brain began to consider some possibilities.

And true, the film did start clicking into place regarding a few of my hunches…and then, it started doing all sorts of crazy things.

There’s talk of time distortion, alternate dimensions, but that seems to become part of a jumbled mass of ‘craziness,’ as the film pushes onward. That seems to be the film’s modus operandi: stuff starts happening, and you are supposed to accept it, and move on to the next set-piece.

The crew of the space station is comprised of 7 people, led by Ava Hamilton (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw). Of all of them, she is the one given enough back story, while the rest are little more than multi-national crew members. Strangely, while many can speak and converse in English, the filmmakers have decided that Chinese engineer Tam (played by Zhang Ziyi) should only speak in Mandarin-Chinese.

Unlike the time given over in the first two films to get to know some of the characters, much of the crew here, are just dependent on you gleaning some of their personality from a little bit of time with them (reminding me of how Ridley Scott chose to introduce us to his crews aboard the Prometheus, and Covenant).

While stuff is happening aboard the Cloverfield Station, we also cut back to some bits with Roger Davies, as Ava’s earthbound husband, Michael.

However, much like the isolated camera-view aboard the space-station, the filmmakers keep the camera on Michael as tightly as possible. Apparently, stuff is happening down on Earth…but as to what, that’s largely left up to our imagination for much of the film.

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I can imagine a lot of people (like myself) going into The Cloverfield Paradox, expecting it to give us answers related to the last two films. Well, prepare to be disappointed.

At this point, it feels like the use of the word Cloverfield is just meant to be some continuing ‘gag’ by Abrams and his filmmakers (I’m waiting for the day when we find out that it was once the name of some guy’s childhood sled, that brought him joy before the monsters came). It’s becoming a bit like going to an event expecting an awesome ‘free gift,’ and you find out it’s just a dinky little keychain.

Paradox did little more than make me wish I was watching other films that it seemed to be referencing at times (heck, I think I could even have been willing to give Europa Report a second chance after this). At this point, it might be time to put the Cloverfield ‘experiment’ out of it’s misery. By now, it is starting to feel more and more like some kind of test to see just how much the audience can take, before they realize they’ve walked into another pit of quick-sand.

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Final Grade: C+ (Final Thoughts:“The Cloverfield Paradox” wants us to be enthralled and concerned for it’s lost spacepeople, but much of it’s story is little more than strange set-pieces, as we go from one ‘happening’ to the next. Even when the film seems to have settled down a little, it never gives us enough ‘grounding’ to really feel for the plight of it’s characters, with the minor exception of Ava Hamilton, who seems to be this film’s ‘Ripley.’)

*Some people may say that most films lose their way by a third sequel, but that isn’t always the case. For every “Wrath of Khan” or “Toy Story 2,” there’s a dozen ‘number 2’ films that were made, that could not uphold the energy and enthusiasm of the first film. This review section, aims to talk about these “Terrible 2’s”*

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When it comes to putting the city of Chicago, Illinois on film, there are a number of films to choose from. For many people, the film they most associate with the city, is John Landis’ 1980 comedy, The Blues Brothers.

Elwood Blues (Dak Akroyd), and Jake Blues (John Belushi)

Based around characters created by John Belushi and Dak Akroyd on Saturday Night Live, the Blues Brothers’ film debut sent Jake and Elwood Blues all over the Chicagoland area, trying to get their old band back together, to save their childhood orphanage.

The film garnered praise for it’s soundtrack, featuring performances by Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, James Brown, and many more.

Of course, the story also involved a wild ride through a shopping mall, a weapons-toting ex-lover (played by Carrie Fisher), and one of the most memorable Police chases throughout the city.

After the film’s release and the death of John Belushi in 1982, Akroyd still attempted to keep the characters, and the spirit of the Blues Brothers alive.

Akroyd would sometimes perform as Elwood Blues in several stage performances, alongside John’s brother James Belushi (as Zee Blues), and John Goodman (as “Mighty Mack” McTeer), in the late 80’s/early 90’s.

Then, in 1998, many were surprised when Blues Brothers 2000 was released early in the year. Shepherding the sequel were the original film’s director John Landis, as well as Akroyd. Also along for the ride were Goodman (in his “Mighty Mack” persona), Joe Morton (as the illegitimate son of Cab Calloway’s character, Curtis), and the return of a number of actors and Blues artists who had lent their talents to the first film.

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Having served his time after the events of the first film, Elwood Blues is released from prison, but finds out upon release, that Jake has also died(?)

Elwood Blues (Dak Akroyd), and Mighty Mack (John Goodman)

Elwood’s first stop is to see Mother (formerly Sister) Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman). Elwood finds out that the orphanage has shut down, and that his father-figure Curtis has died. Mary also introduces Elwood to a young boy named Buster (J Evan Bonifant), and suggests that he spend time with the boy.

After the meeting, Elwood takes Buster with him, and decides to try and reunite the Blues Brothers Band. Along with recruiting a new member in the form of Mighty Mack, the group heads off on a new adventure.

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What is the point?

That should be the biggest question when it comes to BB2K.

Usually, sequels are made when there’s a good reason to tell another story, but when it comes to this film, it plays out like a bad 90’s TV show, following a guy going through his midlife crisis (and not a very entertaining one!).

Probably the biggest slap in the face regarding the film, is when we find out that the orphanage Jake and Elwood worked so hard to save…is now gone!

Plus, Elwood seems convinced that all he has to do is get the band back together, but what is the point in doing so this time? It feels like the only reason he’s doing this, is that he feels it’ll somehow help him achieve some form of balance in his life, after the death of his brother.

All the guys from the band who are still around, seem to have settled into comfortable jobs in the late 90’s (one of them even runs a Mercedes dealership!). So naturally, Elwood upsets their lives, to try and get through his brother-less, midlife crisis.

Plus, while the first film showcased the city of Chicago, BB2K spends a good deal of it’s time, filming in Canada, and claiming it to be Illinois. There were a few scenes shot in Illinois, but for much of the film, it was cheaper to film up-north for this sequel.

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…Buster.

In the first film, Elwood claimed that they were on a mission from God. That was all the justification we seemed to get regarding the semi-charmed way the duo were getting out of all these close scrapes, in sometimes impossible ways.

In this film, Elwood’s catchphrase is: The Lord works in mysterious ways.

One has to wonder if that phrase was utilized, so that Elwood can justify so much of the ridiculousness that happens throughout the film.

Buster (played by J Evan Bonifant)

Probably one of the most ridiculous bits that stands out the most in regards to the film, is the inclusion of the orphan named Buster.

It seems strange that Mother Stigmata would allow a child to be mentored by a recently-released felon…then again, maybe she just had more of a problem with Jake, and felt Elwood was the less troublesome of the boys.

Speaking of Buster, one assumes that maybe there would be some fun, character-building hijinks he would get into with Elwood, kind of like Russell and Carl in Pixar’s Up…but no. Instead, Buster just seems to tag along, dances, miraculously plays the harmonica, has a few lines, and that’s it.

It is also strange that after the sisters in her care report Buster being gone for 7 days, Stigmata calls the Police on Elwood…never telling them or the sisters what she had told Elwood about overseeing him.

In later interviews, director John Landis would say that Buster was thrown in there as part of a bargaining chip with Universal Studios, in making the film. There was even word that if the film had been made earlier in the 90’s, Macauley Culkin might have been given the role.

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This all seems…very familiar.

Watching the film, it feels like Akroyd merely took a lot of what was done in the first script, and re-purposed it for the sequel (but toning stuff down, for it’s PG-13 rating!).

–Many remember the massive Police car pileup scene that goes on for about 30 seconds in the first film. Well, in BB2K, they do it all again, but also flog the joke to death when almost 3-4 times as many cars end up flying into this massive pile-up (see right) that seems to go on for longer than it needs to. (it’s also notable that one extra car-crash in the film, allowed BB2K to beat the first film’s record at the time, for most cars crashed on-screen).

-In the first film, Jake ‘sees the light’ at a church (overseen by James Brown), that convinces him that they need to get the band back together to save the orphanage. In this film, Curtis’ illegitimate son Cabel has a revelation at a tent ceremony (aso presided over by Brown!), where he ‘sees the light,’ in an even more over-the-top way.

There was also a run-in with some disreputable characters.

In the first film, the boys ran afoul of some ‘Illinois Nazis.’ In BB2K, the trouble has been doubled, with Illinois Russians, and a militia group.

That seemed to be the rather annoying thing about the overall sequel, is that Landis and Akroyd merely went through the original film’s script, and started trying to do callbacks.

We’ve seen this kind of stuff done with films like Ghostbusters 2 and Home Alone 2, and just like those films, much of what passes for comedy being run through the wringer a second time, just makes us long for the first time we saw these jokes.

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Explain, movie! Explain!

One of the most memorable icons of the first film, was the 1974 Dodge Monaco Elwood had bought. Though Jake wasn’t happy with it, the car seemed to have the uncanny ability to get them out of almost any scrape they got into. Supposedly, a deleted scene would have shown the vehicle stored in a garage under an electric sub-station, and this was the writer’s idea for how the car could do a lot of what it does.

The film hit us with enough comedy and humor, that much of the time, you could roll with the absurdity at hand. Sadly, that hope that comedy could save BB2K, is dashed pretty quickly.

The filmmakers try to make Elwood’s 1990 Ford Crown Victoria the ‘Bluesmobile 2.0,’ but the film is such a slog, that we end up questioning why it can drive underwater, spin in a circle, or even be remote-controlled!

There also comes a strange moment, when the group performs Ghostriders in the Sky. Clouds suddenly form in the skies above, out of which skeletal ‘ghost riders’ ride over the crowd below…and surprisingly, noone on the ground seems disturbed or terrified at the apparitions above them.

There is even magic thrown into the mix, as the guys go to a battle of the bands, which is being presided over by a Voodoo Witch. She turns the guys into zombies to perform a carribbean song, and then…turns the Russian Mafia guys who come for the gang…into rats!

Of course, it’s not like the first film was berift of craziness.

We had people in a church doing acrobatic jumps in the air, Cab Calloway suddenly go from normal-to-suited in singing Minnie the Moocher, and of course, a station wagon ‘launches’ off an unfinished overpass, and falls several hundred stories to the ground! Heck, Fisher’s character uses a rocket launcher and destroys several downtown Chicago storefronts to rubble, and the brothers survive!

Some films have a fine line they can tread between acceptable and ‘downright spurious,’ and it feels like this film crosses that line, and keeps on going.

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Blues Brothers 2000 opened in early February of 1998, and quickly sank from sight after 3 weeks. Needless to say, the film became another one of those unnecessary sequels, that was rarely ever talked of after it’s debut.

The one silver lining out of the entire Blues Brothers 2000 film.

If there was one silver-lining in the release, it was in the film’s soundtrack. Taken on it’s own (outside of the inherent rambling of the film), the discography is good for a listen or two.

Following the release of the film, there were still further attempts to bring the characters back.

In 2004, a musical titled The Blues Brothers: Revival, premiered in Chicago. The stage production (approved by Akroyd and Belushi’s estate), dealt with Elwood trying to save Jake from an eternity in purgatory.

Crazy as it may sound, there were a few attempts to even bring the characters to life, in animated form!

In 1997, there was an 8-episode animated sitcom produced (but never aired), and in recent years, another animated series has been shopped around (though at this time, there’s been no word if that iteration will ever see the light of day).

In my opinion, the 1980 film could very well have been seen as the highlight of the Blues Brothers’ big-screen career. Stage performances like the kind Akroyd would put on, was a great way to keep the characters alive, but it feels like when it comes to film and television, there’s really not much left to mine regarding the characters.